Good Will Hunting (1997)

Will Hunting, a janitor at MIT, has a gift for mathematics but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life.

Director:

Gus Van Sant

Writers:

Matt Damon, Ben Affleck

Stars:

Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Ben Affleck

Top 250 #148 | Won 2 Oscars. Another 18 wins & 37 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matt Damon	...	Will Hunting
Robin Williams	...	Sean Maguire
Ben Affleck	...	Chuckie Sullivan
Stellan Skarsgård	...	Prof. Gerald Lambeau
Minnie Driver	...	Skylar
Casey Affleck	...	Morgan O'Mally
Cole Hauser	...	Billy McBride
John Mighton	...	Tom - Lambeau's Teaching Assistant
Rachel Majorowski	...	Krystyn
Colleen McCauley	...	Cathy
Matt Mercier	...	Barbershop Quartet #1
Ralph St. George	...	Barbershop Quartet #2
Rob Lynds	...	Barbershop Quartet #3
Dan Washington	...	Barbershop Quartet #4
Alison Folland	...	M.I.T. Student #1

Storyline

A touching tale of a wayward young man who struggles to find his identity, living in a world where he can solve any problem, except the one brewing deep within himself, until one day he meets his soul mate who opens his mind and his heart.

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Plot Keywords:

genius | professor | janitor | mathematics | friend | 

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Taglines:

Some people can never believe in themselves, until someone believes in them.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language, including some sex-related dialogue

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 January 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

En busca del destino

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$10,400,000 (Non-US) (6 March 1998)

Gross:

$138,339,411 (USA) (24 July 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Be Gentlemen Limited Partnership, Lawrence Bender Productions, Miramax Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

An earlier draft of the script had Will Hunting being recruited by the government to become a cryptanalyst (based on his mathematical ability). Rob Reiner reportedly reviewed the script and advised Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to eliminate this subplot. However, there is a reference to it in the final script: the scene where Will meets with NSA agents and explains why he doesn't want to work for them.

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Goofs

When Professor Lambeau is interrupted at the alumni cocktail reception, the alumni wearing the red jackets are all too young to be wearing the he "Artillery" Red jacket, which is the MIT 50-year alumnus jacket.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Lambeau: Mod fx... squared... dx. So please finish Parceval, by next time. I know many of you had this as undergraduates, but it won't hurt to brush up.

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the credits, the film is dedicated to the memory of poet Allen Ginsberg and writer William S. Burroughs, both of whom died in 1997.

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Connections

Spoofed in Rushmore (1998)

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Soundtracks

"Room"
Written and Performed by Dan Lander

User Reviews

Must See Flick

The name of the film always put me off watching it. Ever so glad i was convinced in to it.

Only the fact that there is so much bad language and for Titanic being released in the same year this would have swept the boards in the Oscars!

I hate Robin Williams as a comedian, but i was in tears after watching his timeless performance. I love most of the classic movies but this is definitely the best film i have ever seen

Mat Damon played a great part, showing the full spectrum of emotions in his role.

I've ever gone out and bought the soundtrack to the film, i've watched it half a dozen times and always go right through to the final credits.

Pure brilliance!